Purpose: The purpose of the Developmental Core is to provide a source of immediate financial support, in conjunction with Core services, to attract new and innovative research at the collaborating institutions on the effects of HIV infection and drug abuse on nutritional, endocrine, and metabolic (NEM) parameters. Each year, three awards of $30,000 will be earmarked for developmental projects. Two types of projects will be supported by these funds: 1) Pilot projects from junior faculty who wish to initiate research programs on NEM abnormalities in drug users; and 2) Projects designed specifically to encourage cross-disciplinary work between drug use researchers and researchers with expertise in HIV-related NEM abnormalities. These awards can be used to obtain preliminary data to allow for more competitive grant applications to be submitted to the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the awards will allow researchers at the collaborating institutions to quickly and cost-effectively test new ideas and hypotheses, potentially leading to larger research programs and effective interventions or treatments for NEM abnormalities in drug users.